as long as we remember
by Sweet Valentine
Summary: But who'll hear the echoes of stories never told? Let them ring out loud 'til they unfold. /Series of random drabbles/ Chp 4: Nothing can quite prepare Blank for the first time he meets Ruby.
1. Perception

**Disclaimer: characters are property of Squaresoft/Enix. Boo.**

**Perception**

He doesn't know how long he's been sitting there, gripping his brother's cold, dead palm, but eventually, he decides he'd better start moving; the sun has begun making it's descent, and Zidane would rather not spend the night with a corpse.

So he starts walking.

Around dawn, he makes his way out from underneath the vicious roots of the Iifa Tree. He hears a fluting melody overhead, and it's the _most wondrous_ sound he has ever heard; Zidane cranks his head to look up at the sky, and sees a Canary.

He thinks that, perhaps, Kuja got _some_ things right.

**AN: Just some drabbles I decided to work on. There aren't any themes as of yet, though I have claimed Blank over at LJ's "MadainSari", so you can expect to see several drabbles centered on him. Maybe I'll get a Vivi claim too... anyway, enjoy!**


	2. Blonde

**Blond(e)**

"She's not my type."

His tone is challenging, daring Zidane to reply with the fated question, taunting him into submission of curiosity. Zidane doesn't bite. So Blank continues to lean against the wall, seemingly nonchalant. Zidane's full of crap, he always is (it's part of his charm), and Blank knows full well not to encourage him (no matter how persistent the itch).

The younger man departs, off in search of his 'sweetie pie,' and Blank scoffs, following him for only a few steps. Cinna is right outside, and once Zidane is out of view, he turns to face Blank, asking casually:

"What _is_ your type?"

"…Blond."

**AN: madainsari's LJ 100 claim, theme: Wish. Slightly more than 100 words this time. Oh well.  
**


	3. Game Night

**Disclaimer: Not my copyright**

**Game Night**

Marcus is the serious one, Cinna is the weird one, Zidane is the charming-yet-hyperactively-hysterical one, and Blank is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, a conglomeration of all the traits meshed into one person, yet hidden carefully beneath the surface of his poker face.

When the four of them sit huddled over the table, playing cards, their game faces and demeanors reflect their personalities exactly, Baku notices. Marcus sits rigidly, deadpanning any and all responses to the others' queries; his face is stern and stiff; his tell, his thickset brow furrowing – that's when he has good cards. When he has bad cards, Marcus' mouth draws into a taut line, and his nostrils flare.

Cinna is easier to read, because he's such an oddball. His posture is more slumped, yet more relaxed than that of Marcus'. When his hand is good, he not so discreetly gives his worn Garnet doll a squeeze. When he's dealt a bad hand, he scrunches his nose so he looks even more distinctly piggish.

Zidane is actually a skilled player. But it's mostly because he cheats. His tell was a difficult one to spot, but Baku eventually managed it; the better his cards, the more his tail swung around, spazzed out, _moved_ in general. Baku also learned that whenever Zidane had bad cards, he would simply cheat his way into getting better cards; his eyes shift a lot when he does this.

Blank…is nearly impossible to read. It's no wonder he's easily the best player at the table (even with Zidane's cheating antics). The thing about Blank is that he has no tell; at least, not a one that Baku can see. Blank's moniker is well earned; his poker face never varies, his body language never changes. Blank is disturbingly good at cards.

"Dammit, Blank." Another round lost by Zidane; more coins in Blank's purse. Baku laughs. Four straight rounds, all won by Blank. The other boys are getting impatient.

But Blank is good about that sort of thing. He always lets Marcus and Cinna win a round during their card games.

He always lets Zidane win two.

So the orphans sit, huddled at the dingy table on the Prima Vista, playing cards and drinking, and Baku swears it looks like family.


	4. Mesmerize

**Disclaimer: see previous chapters**

**Mesmerize**

When Blank first joins Tantalus, he's not really sure he likes it – the other boys make fun of him, for his patchwork clothing and his distinct lack of being able to see very well in bright sunlight. Blank tries to not let it get to him, but he can't deny it – it's a struggle.

He decides to leave one day, determinedly making his way to the exit, when he meets _her_. He hasn't met her until now, only being a part of the group for a few days, else he's sure he would have remembered the violently blue hair and even more electric eyes. She looks a few years older than him, but she smiles sweetly and prettily and with a drawling, sugary voice, introduces herself to him as "Ruby."

He never does end up leaving after that.


End file.
